Pirate Game Skull And Bones Is Getting Delayed

One of Ubisoft's most anticipated games set to release for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Skull & Bones, just got hit with the delay hammer. A lot of gamers have been looking forward to the pirate-themed boat sim, but you'll have to wait just a bit longer if you want to get your hands on the nautical combat simulator.

The news comes courtesy of Ubisoft's fourth-quarter earnings report (via IGN), where the company announced that the outlook for the 2019 slate sees the company requiring more time to develop Skull & Bones, and therefore the game has been pushed back. Not only has it been pushed back, but it's now looking at a 2019 through 2020 release. This means that while the game may be pushed back into the 2019 release window, it doesn't guarantee that it will release next year. In fact, the 2020 release seems like a much stronger possibility depending on how much of the game is actually finished.

Last year during E3 when Ubisoft unveiled the game, it was mostly showcased through a cinematic giving gamers an idea of what to expect from the nautical sim. Some gameplay footage was also briefly showcased during the E3 stage demonstration, where we saw how different types of boats were on the water and players utilized the different sized ships to do battle. Some of the smaller ships could maneuver around quickly but were susceptible to being destroyed rather quickly.

As usual, there are also large vessels for players to utilize in Skull & Bones as well, from merchant ships to man-o-war sized vessels. The bigger boats feature more weapons and output far more damage during combat, but it comes at the sacrifice of maneuverability and speed.

Many of the mechanics are leveraged from the Assassin's Creed series, specifically the naval combat from Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, where a large portion of the gameplay took place in the open waters.

We also know that there will be more fantastical elements present, such as being able to fight against the Kraken and other mythical sea creatures. However, we don't know exactly to what extent the fantasy elements will be present in the game, whether or not they will be a regular occurrence in Skull & Bones or rare events.

What we do know is that the game certainly won't be coming out this year since Ubisoft will be focusing on releasing The Crew 2, The Division 2, and utilizing its time at E3 to focus on an unannounced AAA title for home consoles.

We really have no idea what the unannounced AAA title is, but we know it's not Beyond Good & Evil 2. Some speculation has rumored that the game could be a new Assassin's Creed title. It seems a little unlikely that it might be a new Assassin's Creed game since Origins literally just came out last year, but then again Ubisoft may be heading back into annual outings for the popular series.

Hopefully, we'll get some more news and info about Skull & Bones at this year's E3. Even though the game may be delayed into 2019 that doesn't mean Ubisoft can't share more info about the game ahead of release.